Lundqvist, Rangers avoid arbitration

The New York Rangers avoided salary arbitration with Henrik Lundqvist by agreeing to terms on a 1-year deal yesterday with the Olympic gold-medal winning goalie.

Lundqvist, a restricted free agent scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 24, will earn $4.25 million next season. He made $817,000 last season.

The two-time Vezina Trophy finalist will be in line for a long-term contract after next Jan. 1 that will impact the 2008-09 cap instead of this season.

If New York signs Lundqvist to another 1-year deal in 2008, they run the risk of losing him to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2009.

Lundqvist, 25, went 37-22-8 with a 2.34 goals against average in 70 games last season - his second in the NHL. The 37 wins were the second-most in a single season in Rangers history.

The goalie, who led Sweden to the gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics, tied for sixth in the league with five shutouts.

* Washington signed 2006 first-round draft pick Simeon Varlamov, a 19-year-old goalie, to a 3-year, entry-level contract. He was the 23rd overall pick a year ago.

* Left wing Eric Boulton, a 6-year veteran, re-signed with the Atlanta Thrashers. Terns were not disclosed.

* Minnesota re-signed backup goalie Josh Harding to a multiyear contract.

* Veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky agreed to a 5-year extension with Los Angeles.

* Pittsburgh signed defenseman Alex Goligoski to a 2-year entry-level contract, meaning he will not return for his senior season at the University of Minnesota.

* Former Detroit Red Wings coach Jimmy Skinner, who led a team starring Hall of Famers Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay to the Stanley Cup in 1955, died yesterday at age 90. *